Maybe the gods wanted to be on your side that day. As you ventured out to find at least one of the horses again, it happened to happen that you came across three horses. One of them was the mere. The other two were stallions. One of wich Morvran had rode and the other one that he had lost on his way to the mansion.

None of the animals tired to make a fuss, not even the mere and followed you back to their master, without resisting.

"Thank the gods.", Morvran sighed. "Seems like today is our luckiest of the worst days."

An amused laugh escaped you.

"That's a way to put it. At least we got the horses back.", you grinned and helped him get onto the back of his stallion.

He choose the one that he had lost on his way to the mansion. It was a loyal companion of his and had a lot less temper than the other horse. With his ankle, he wouldn't have been able to ride properly so he needed a horse that knew his will by heart.

As both of you returned to the mansion, it was already as dark as a night could get. The servants had lit the lanterns that were hanging on the sides of the buildings.

Nobody was around. It seemed like no one had noticed that you two were gone for quite a while. No one accept Herman.

With a disappointed expression on his face, he waited at the door of the stables. He was visibly tired. Your disappearing must have kept him awake till this hours.

"Where have you been, child? And why are you with the mere? I've told you your not allowed to take the horses for a ride.", unsure, his eyes wandered up to Morvran. "Please forgive the child for this behaviour, young master. I will make sure that a fitting punishment will be received."

With an unpleasant feeling on your stomach, you got down from the horse, looking up to Morvran.

He looked back at you, then to Herman.

"There is no need for that.", he said but his voice had changed.

He sounded a lot colder now, more distanced and not as friendly as he sounded back when he had talked to you.
Surprised, Herman raised his eyebrows.

"But the mere-!"

"Don't worry about it. (Y/N) is responsible for taming her from now on. She has taken the mere out for training. As fate wanted it, she found my lost stallion too. So please, go to bed Herman. I will take care of the horses. And (Y/N), will you accompany me?"

Surprised, you looked up at him and nodded.

"Of course.", you answered.

"Watch your manners and address the young master properly!", Herman thundered. "It's sir or young master. I thought I've taught you how to address a nobleman."

"O-of course, sir.", you repeated, biting your lips to suppress the urge to shout at the old man.

Seriously, you loved him as if he was your own grandfather but something he was a little too rough around the edges. Plus, you were unsure how to address the general while others were around. He had asked you to call him by his first name but it seemed uncommon. Maybe people would get the wrong idea when they heard that he allowed a simple servant like you to call him by his name.

As Herman was gone, you hurried inside the stable to clean the mere and the two stallions.

Morvran wanted to help, but his foot was forcing him to sit down. So, instead of being his usual self and care for all the horses needs, he sat on a stack of hay and watched as you did all the work.

"You need to dry the reins or the leather will crack.", Morvran said as he watched you clean the saddles.

With an exhausted sigh, you rolled your eyes, picked up a towel and threw it at him.

"Do it yourself, if you know so much better.", you said in an annoyed but playful voice.

The towel hit him right in the face. Struck by surprise, he remained unmoved, while the white fabric was covering his unamused facial expression.

"Are you always this grumpy, when someone is telling you how to do stuff?", he asked and pulled the towel form his face to dry the reins.

"No... Maybe sometimes... but not all the time."

A short and sarcastic laugh escaped him.

"Why? You have no need to treat me this way. I am trying to be your equal. If I talk to you then face to face and not as your master.", waiting, he glanced up to you.

Biting your lips, you tried to suppress the feelings that were boiling up inside your chest. Tears began to fill your eyes.

Your lips trembled.

"I... uh...", you began but cut yourself off. "It's just a part of me I guess. That's... just how I am."

Hastily, you wiped your face with the sleeve of your shirt. Tears were nothing he had to see. Taking a deep breath in, you turned around, not in the mood to smile and check on his foot.

Willingly, he allowed you to touch the swelling that was covering his ankle. It was violet and blue all over. There were even green and yellow spots. A few day and the skin would be as black as the night. He wouldn't be able to walk for a bit. It would have been best to force him to rest.

But Morvran did not seem like a man that liked to rest and do nothing all day. Even now, he was restless. It was written all over his face that he wanted to get up and walk again. But the pain forced him to stay seated.

Relieved, you breathed out and looked him in the eyes.

"And?", he asked impatiently.

"The good thing is that it's not broken. We don't have the supplies to heal a broken bone. The bad news is, it's sprained. It will hurt a lot more than a broken bone. If some muscles have ripped, the healing will take a lot longer.", unsure, you looked at the ankle again. "If you want my advice: keep the foot as still as possible. The lesser you use it the faster it will heal."

Exhausted, he sighed and threw his head back.

"So no riding.", he mumbled. "Fuck."